


Once We Were Dragons

by UmbralStars



Series: Those Who Weave Fate [2]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Askr (Fire Emblem Heroes), Books, Dragons, Fantasy, Fictional Religion & Theology, Gen, Gender-Neutral Summoner | Eclat | Kiran, Language Barrier, Linguistics, Manaketes (Fire Emblem), Mentioned Gustav (Fire Emblem), Mentioned Sharon | Sharena, Mentioned Veronica (Fire Emblem) - Freeform, Narnia Mention, Other, Probably bad linguistics, Worldbuilding, but I tried I swear, kiran and alfonse just chilling in the library
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:48:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26258935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UmbralStars/pseuds/UmbralStars
Summary: Winter has descended on Askr far sooner than anticipated; bringing the war with Embla to a temporary stall. Now with an abundance of down time, Alfonse and Kiran find themselves together in the library. After an unsuccessful attempt at finding a new book for Kiran, Alfonse tells the Summoner a small piece of Zenith's history and the origins of his people.
Relationships: Alfonse & Summoner | Eclat | Kiran, Alfonse/Summoner | Eclat | Kiran
Series: Those Who Weave Fate [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2149731
Comments: 4
Kudos: 47





	Once We Were Dragons

Alfonse watched the snow gather in sheets from the library's window. Winter had come fast to Askr this year; descending upon them on Nifl's wings before the Frostfall Moon had even begun. An early winter was a blessing he supposed. Zenith had a brief respite from the war for as long as winter spirits remained, for even a young warmonger like Princess Veronica knew Nifl's wrath was not to be tested. Alfonse stepped away from the window with a sigh. There was no use in dwelling on the war right now. The Prince knew if Sharena were here she'd tell him the exact same thing, with a pinch of telling him to allow himself to rest. Could he really allow himself rest, even now? With his people's lives still in danger? With his father's expectations ever grasping his shoulders?

He shivered. He was too far from the hearth fire. Alfonse strode back to where Kiran and him had bunked down for the night. They were the only ones left in the castle's library at this hour, but neither the Prince nor the Summoner seem inclined to turn in for the night. Fine enough for Alfonse. He much prefered the Summoner's company to his thoughts. He walked past the mirriad of crystal lit shelves back into the orange warmth of the hearth. Kiran was curled up on the couch, sipping from their tea cup while keeping their eyes intently on the book in front of them. The blanket Alfonse had been using still sat discarded on the other side of the couch (Kiran had elected to just use their cloak for warmth saying, "It's just like a snuggie." when Alfonse had asked why. He really needed to ask Kiran what exactly a 'snuggie' was at some point), so he picked it up and wrapped it around his shoulders. Still feeling a bit cold, the Prince elected to sit a little closer to Kiran than he previously had. Said Summoner finally pulled away from the book when Alfonse regained his spot on the couch. "No luck?" they asked.

"No," Alfonse admitted with a sigh, "I didn't see any books with those sort of symbols when I looked around. Askr has so many books from all kinds of worlds, but I can't seem to find a single one from Earth."

Kiran shrugged, "You might've just missed them." They placed a mark inside the book before laying it on their lap, "A lot of places in my world don't use the same script, Gods! not even everyone speaks the same language! So even if you did find one, I might not be able to read it."

Alfonse kicked himself. Gods beyond! How did he forget such a simple fact about others worlds? "My apologies, Kiran," he stated apologetically, "I simply forgot how disparete the languages of your World are."

"Ah, don't worry about it. You were just trying to find me something else to read," Kiran paused looking toward the fire as if contemplating something, "You know, it's actually really weird how mutually intelligible you've said Askr and Embla's languages are."

Alfonse tilted his head to the side, "It is?"

Kiran nodded, "Zenith is _huge,_ Al. In my world, there are places right next door to one another who don't speak anywhere close to the same languages. There are languages in my world that come from the same parent that can't understand one another at all. _Dialects_ of the same language that can't understand each other at all."

Kiran's eyes shined with passion as they spoke, and Alfonse couldn't help the warm feeling that settled in chest as he clung to every word. He chuckled, "It sounds like your world could use knowledge of Common much more than than us."

They shrugged, absentmindedly running a hand along the golden circlet on their head, "Eh, Common's a useful tool, not gonna lie, but I'd like to be able to take off this circlet one day and just talk in Askran, y'know. My linguistics professor _always_ stressed how important languages were to cultures. They're weird and confusing at times, but important." They fiddled with their gloves and flashed Alfonse a smile, "Given how many times you've forgotten your Common stone, I'd bet me learning Askran fully would make a world a difference."

Alfonse nodded. Yes. Yes, it would. Without question. He wanted to truly speak freely with Kiran without the aid of magic. Wanted them to be able to read Zenith's stories with their own eyes. Wanted them to be able to truly live-

Alfonse sucked in a breath and smothered the thought. He shoved it aside with some difficulty and put his mind back onto the topic at hand, "With the winter upon us we'll have plenty of time being stuck in the castle. I don't know just how well a teacher I'll be, but I would be more than happy to help you."

Kiran shifted closer to the prince, their eyes wide with surprise and joy, "You would? Really?! I-I don't know what to say. Thank you, Al! I-" they looked away as a blush settled on their face. Clearing their throat, Kiran waved towards the hearth, as if trying to clear away the previous conversation, "Anyways! My point was that for how big Zenith is it's strange the languages haven't diverged more."

Alfonse considered the inherit question on Kiran's tongue. 'Why is that?' He knew why. It was a story known by all in Zenith. It was their history, their very blood and birthright. But it wasn't a fact he had previously shared with Kiran. Perhaps it was time to stop running around the tree. "You give us a bit too much credit." the prince began, "There are some dialects in Askr, and definitely in parts of Embla that give me _some_ pause. But, our language was a gift from the God of Knowledge Grima. The Dragon Tribes once spoke one constant language, but as we were scattered across the worlds, and cut off from our brethren, it fractured and changed from thiers."

Kiran's attention was fully on him as he gestured around the library, "The Zenithians, however, are different. We especially blessed as the Keepers of the Worlds. Askr and Embla are, perhaps, far more resilient to change. The situation with Embla has deteriorated, but I do not doubt it would be far worse if I could not even speak with Princess Veronica." He nodded towards Kiran's circlet, "It is the same reason Grima created Common, so there is not a world in which we can't communicate."

Kiran blinked in confusion, "And yet you can't read books from other languages? That seems like a pretty big oversight."

Alfonse huffed and rubbed the back of his neck. "N-No I cannot," he leaned back into the couch and threw a hand up into the air, "We could once. But that knowledge has been lost for so long I do not see a way we could ever recover it, save for divine intervention. I'll admit, it is beyond frustrating to see such a blatant loss of our power!" He ran a hand through his hair, stopping only to grasp weakly at the divine gold at the ends, and sighed, "As if the permanent change our forms was not enough it seems..."

The prince's gaze focused on the fire within the hearth as the silence stretched between Kiran and he. He could feel the pull of mana coursing through the flames. It was strong, vibrant, and made his heart yearn to beat in sync with it. It was different from the constant hum of the World that he felt in his very bones and could become lost in if he focused to intently on its vast depths. He was the lucky one. Sharena couldn't feel it at all no matter how hard she tried, and without Fensalir she might not be able to access it at all. Alfonse jumped when Kiran suddenly squeezed his hand. The Summoner was looking at him concern etched in their blue eyes. The Prince smiled and shook his head hoping to calm that concern, "I am fine, Kiran."

They bit their lip, "There is something I don't understand, Al."

"Yes?"

Kiran took a deep breath to seemingly steady themself, "Aren't you a human? Like me? You've said before how long you live yeah, but you said the Dragons were your 'brethren.' I don't know if you just didn't want to tell me or it's never come up, but I've never seen you transform like the manakete soldiers."

Alfonse did not know how to respond to that. There was a question about what the people of Zenith even were now, but Alfonse did not want to leave Kiran without an answer to, what he assumed was, a distressing question. "Once," Alfonse said, "we were Dragons."

"Dragons?" Kiran said slowly as if testing the world or trying to figure how that was possible.

"Dragons. The first of the mortal Dragons in fact," Alfonse confirmed. He placed his other hand on top of Kiran's, "Those manakete soldiers are some of the last Zenithians who have the ability to shift between our two forms; like we were able to before the Crisis. Bahelios formed us to have both; however, that power has been lost even among the royal families."

"If you don't mind me asking Al, but why? I don't want to tear into some ancestral trauma or something, so tell if I'm crossing a line-"

"No, no. It is alright Kiran. Everyone in Zenith knows the story," Alfonse closed his eyes. He could almost hear his father reciting the myth as an exchange for Alfonse to sleep when he was a boy. He couldn't help but smile. This same story was the subject of many "sparring" sessions with his father and Zacharias, with Alfonse playing the hero and his opponent being the awful Chaos Dragon.

He would need to be far more brief than his father, but Alfonse felt he could manage. He shifted again to fully face Kiran and placed his other hand atop their already joined ones, "Long ago, the people of Zenith still lived as mortal Dragons under the guidance and rule of the Tribe of the Gods. Our forms were varied and split into many Tribes, but all connected to the deep magic of creation. From our homeland, we spread out across the worlds; creating new homes and giving knowledge to the creatures that we found. The Zenithians were deemed the Keepers of the Worlds by the Gods. The strong trunk of the tree which connected the leaves with the roots."

Kiran's eyes shined in the fireight, enraptured by every uttered word, silently spurring Alfonse to continue, "We believed that our Golden Age would last for eternity; however, it was not to be. The Chaos Dragon, imprisoned long ago by the Gods, broke free of his chains and attacked the World Tree. He poisoned the mana we need to live, killed and scattered the gods who protected us, and began to drive us all to madness. Alfathör and the strongest of the Gods drove back the Chaos Dragon, but only just.

"The damage he caused was nearly irreversible, but the God Dragons, Askr and Embla, found a way to mitigate the worst of it. They commanded the people to give up our Dragonic forms so we did not fall to madness. That broke much the connection we had to the poisoned deep magic and shortened our lives in the process. We could originally use Dragonstones to transform; it's just that over time more and more of us lose the ability to transform at all. Zenith was cut off from the other worlds as well. Embla declared the Gates remained shut while Zenith healed, and our exploration and general contact with other Worlds was halted however temporarily." Alfonse ran a hand through his hair, brushing his ear in the process, before returning it to clasp Kiran's hand, "And that is the sorry tale of our people, and why we all look so human."

"Do you think there might be a way to fix"-they gestured to all of Alfonse-"this? Let you turn back into Dragons?"

Alfonse shrugged, "Many have thought about it. There were rumors that Emperor Einar was trying to find a way to reverse what happened when he started his war, but my father believes him to be nothing but warmonger. Needless to say he disrupted many worlds in his search, and Askr is still feeling the consequences."

Kiran's expression turned to surprise. Those deep pools were wide with interest as they examined Alfonse as close as they could. The Prince blushed at the undivided attention, but felt no desire to dissuade Kiran from continuing. "Do you think any Zenithians ever came to Earth?" Kiran leaned forward their entire body brimming with interest and excitement, "Well given that I got here through a Gate, and all the Dragon myths all over Earth it might be possible! What if there were Zenthians who stayed on Earth?!"

Alfonse chuckled, "It certainly could be possible. Why all the sudden excitement though, Kiran?"

It was Kiran's turn to blush as they looked away from Alfonse back down at their book, "It's just....everything I've always read in books...is real. Magic, Dragons, worlds so different from my own, and it's not just some fantasy! It's all real!" they looked back up at Alfonse and gave him a shy smile, "It's still kinda hard for me to wrap my head around it all. I know you've lived around it all your life, but on my World, aside from some people, everyone just tosses all this aside as well...fantasy."

Alfonse did wonder about the world Kiran came from. Where magic and Dragons were myths and fairytales. Where their Gods were distant and their existence debated. Where all things he knew as fact were relegated to mere fiction at worst and history at best. It both intrigued and frightened him what he might find should he dare to open and cross through that Gate. He pulled one of his hands free of the pile to reach out and take Kiran's book, looking at the Summoner for a nod in allowance of course. He had to hold the book close to make out the image in the dimming firelight. There was what looked to be a lantern on a black pole in the middle of the winter surrounded by a forest of birch trees. This was one of the books Kiran had on their person when they first arrived in Askr. However, try as he might, Alfonse couldn't figure what the symbols were saying but he assumed that one had to be a name. Kiran pointed at the words covering the lantern, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It's a fantasy story; one of my favorite in fact."

Fantasy? Alfonse curious about how people of Kiran's World saw Worlds with magic like Zenith. "Could you read it for me?" he asked, "If you do not mind; I do not want to displace you."

Kiran instantly took out the mark and threw it on the table, "Don't worry about it, Al. I've read this book probably a hundred times, and besides-" Kiran smiled at him, "-how many times have you read books to me?"

Alfonse cleared his throat as he once again felt a blush rising to his cheeks, "I-I'll put some more firewood in the hearth then."

The Prince stood from the couch and threw another piece of wood into the dimming fire before return to his friend's side. Kiran pulled Alfonse right up next to them so they could both see the text in the fire and dim crystal light. They turned to the front of the book, a picture of the same pole lantern sat above the text, cleared their throat and began, "Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy..."

**Author's Note:**

> Edit 2/2/2021: Edited to bring it more in line with current worldbuilding.


End file.
